Canadian Horse
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Horse is a breed
of horse
developed in Canada
. Although previously relatively unknown due to its rarity, the Canadian Horse has influenced many other North American breeds, including the Morgan
, American Saddlebred
, and Standardbred. Although there have been several times when the breed almost went extinct, now the Canadian Horse has many enthusiasts within and outside of Canada.
The Canadian Horse gave rise to the Canadian Pacer
, which has had a profound impact on many of the gaited breeds of today.
, having large and expressive eyes, well-structured head and delicate ears. Their build is very muscular, compact and stout, with a naturally animated gaits
. They are known for having a heavy and wavy mane and tail, good bone and good feet (all reminiscence of Andalusian
and Barb
ancestry). They are considered to have soundness, hardiness and endurance. They are willing horses and easy keeper
s.
Most Canadian Horses are black
; bay, chestnut
and brown
are less common. There are a very few individuals that carry the cream gene
and are called "ash white." Their height ranges on average from 14 to 16 hands
and they can weigh between 1000–1400 lbs.
Unlike most breeds, there is a set naming system that is used to identify individuals based on the registration format employed by the Canadian Livestock Registry Corporation. First comes the prefix, the farm or breeding establishment of which the foal
was born into, followed by the sire's name, and lastly the given name for the foal. However, each year a different letter is assigned, and it is by the year's letter that the foal is named. Some older horses do not fall under this naming strategy, but it is now mandatory in naming registered offspring coming from purebred Canadian lines.
The Canadian Horse descended from the French stock Louis XIV
sent to Canada in the late 17th century. His goal was to develop a breeding program in the colony, and two stallions and 12 mares were sent in 1665. More shipments arrived until 1671, bringing the total number of horses to around 82. The exact origins of all the horses are unknown, with many believing most of the horses were of Breton
, Norman descent, Andalusian
and Barb ancestry. The horses were leased to farmers for money or in exchange for a foal (although they remained the property of the king for three years). By 1679, there were 145 horses. In 1696, the number of horses in the colony had tripled. By 1763, there were around 13,000 horses in New France
. The horses thrived despite low comfort, hard work, and bad roads, and eventually developed the nicknames "the little iron horse" (French: petit cheval de fer) and "the horse of steel".
During the 19th century, breeders bred different types of Canadian crosses such as the Canadian Pacer
, an amalgamation with the Narragansett Pacer
, the "Frencher", a Thoroughbred
cross with hotter blood used as saddle horses or roadsters, and the "St. Lawrence", a much heavier draft type, in order to meet a variety of needs. Later, thousands of horses were exported to the United States
, for both the Civil War
and also to use as breeding stock to create roadsters
and stock for the growing stage coach lines. Others were exported to the West Indies for use on the sugar plantations. However, mass exports lead to a precipitous drop in the breed population in Canada in the 1870s, and the stud book was opened in 1886 to preserve the breed and prevent possible extinction. The Canadian Horse Breeders' Association was formed in 1895.
In 1913, the Canadian government began a breeding center in Cap Rouge, Quebec
. In 1919, this facility was outgrown so the breeding program was transferred to St. Joachim, Quebec
, where it was operated jointly by the Canadian and Quebec governments.
In 1940, World War II
brought an end to the federal breeding program at St. Joachim. At that time, the Quebec government purchased several of the horses and created their own provincial breeding program at Deschambault. In the 1960s, they worked to breed a taller, more refined horse, who would be suitable as a hunter or jumper
. During this time, other private breeders worked to preserve the original type, the Henryville line being an example of this.
Eventually the Deschambault herd was sold at auction in 1981. The breed was in danger of disappearing for a second time, with less than 400 horses in the breed register, and fewer than 50 new registrations being recorded per year. However, dedicated breeders rescued the Canadian Horse. New registrations were around 50 per year in 1980 and rose to over 500 new registrations per year in 1999–2000. Since 2000, the new registrations are stable at 450-500 per year. There are now more than 6,000 horses registered.
disciplines, and some are still used as work horses
for farming. The generally good temperament displayed by the Canadian horse also makes them useful as all-round family horses.
In addition to the Beaver
, the Canadian Horse is commonly seen as an animal symbol representing Canada, especially in connection with images of the Mounties. On April 30, 2002, a bill was passed into law by the Canadian Government making the Canadian Horse an official symbol of Canada.
As the Canadian Horse is also "closely associated with the historical origins and the agricultural traditions of Québec", a similar law was passed by the provincial legislature in November 2010, recognizing the breed as an "heritage breed of Quebec".
Horse breed
Horse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...
of horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
developed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Although previously relatively unknown due to its rarity, the Canadian Horse has influenced many other North American breeds, including the Morgan
Morgan horse
The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....
, American Saddlebred
American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...
, and Standardbred. Although there have been several times when the breed almost went extinct, now the Canadian Horse has many enthusiasts within and outside of Canada.
The Canadian Horse gave rise to the Canadian Pacer
Canadian Pacer
The Canadian Pacer is a horse breed of which only small numbers remain.-History:In the Canadian Provinces, French mares were crossed with Dutch and English stock. The bloodlines of the Canadian Pacer are not exactly known, but are thought to be descended from the French Norman horse and a strain of...
, which has had a profound impact on many of the gaited breeds of today.
Breed characteristics
The old-style Canadian Horse somewhat resembles the foundation-style MorganMorgan horse
The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....
, having large and expressive eyes, well-structured head and delicate ears. Their build is very muscular, compact and stout, with a naturally animated gaits
Horse gait
Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...
. They are known for having a heavy and wavy mane and tail, good bone and good feet (all reminiscence of Andalusian
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...
and Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
ancestry). They are considered to have soundness, hardiness and endurance. They are willing horses and easy keeper
Easy keeper
An easy keeper, easy doer or good doer is a livestock animal that can live on relatively little food. The opposite of an easy keeper is a hard keeper , an animal that is prone to be too thin and has difficulty maintaining adequate weight.Easy keepers tend to be found most often in breeds...
s.
Most Canadian Horses are black
Black (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
; bay, chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
and brown
Seal brown (horse)
Seal brown is a hair coat color of horses characterized by a near-black body color; with black points, the mane, tail and legs; but also reddish or tan areas around the eyes, muzzle, behind the elbow and in front of the stifle...
are less common. There are a very few individuals that carry the cream gene
Cream gene
The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
and are called "ash white." Their height ranges on average from 14 to 16 hands
Hand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
and they can weigh between 1000–1400 lbs.
Unlike most breeds, there is a set naming system that is used to identify individuals based on the registration format employed by the Canadian Livestock Registry Corporation. First comes the prefix, the farm or breeding establishment of which the foal
Foal
A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
was born into, followed by the sire's name, and lastly the given name for the foal. However, each year a different letter is assigned, and it is by the year's letter that the foal is named. Some older horses do not fall under this naming strategy, but it is now mandatory in naming registered offspring coming from purebred Canadian lines.
History
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
sent to Canada in the late 17th century. His goal was to develop a breeding program in the colony, and two stallions and 12 mares were sent in 1665. More shipments arrived until 1671, bringing the total number of horses to around 82. The exact origins of all the horses are unknown, with many believing most of the horses were of Breton
Breton (horse)
The Breton is a breed of draft horse. It was developed in Brittany, a province in northwest France, from native ancestral stock dating back thousands of years. The Breton was created through the crossbreeding of many different European and Oriental breeds. In 1909, a stud book was created, and in...
, Norman descent, Andalusian
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...
and Barb ancestry. The horses were leased to farmers for money or in exchange for a foal (although they remained the property of the king for three years). By 1679, there were 145 horses. In 1696, the number of horses in the colony had tripled. By 1763, there were around 13,000 horses in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. The horses thrived despite low comfort, hard work, and bad roads, and eventually developed the nicknames "the little iron horse" (French: petit cheval de fer) and "the horse of steel".
During the 19th century, breeders bred different types of Canadian crosses such as the Canadian Pacer
Canadian Pacer
The Canadian Pacer is a horse breed of which only small numbers remain.-History:In the Canadian Provinces, French mares were crossed with Dutch and English stock. The bloodlines of the Canadian Pacer are not exactly known, but are thought to be descended from the French Norman horse and a strain of...
, an amalgamation with the Narragansett Pacer
Narragansett Pacer
The Narragansett Pacer was the first horse breed developed in the United States, but is now extinct. It was developed in the United States during the 18th century and associated closely with the state of Rhode Island, and it had become extinct by the late 19th century...
, the "Frencher", a Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
cross with hotter blood used as saddle horses or roadsters, and the "St. Lawrence", a much heavier draft type, in order to meet a variety of needs. Later, thousands of horses were exported to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for both the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and also to use as breeding stock to create roadsters
Roadster (horse)
Roadster is a type of driving competition for horses and ponies where the horse and exhibitor appear in equipment similar to that used in harness racing. It is derived from the historical use of certain horses hitched to light carts that traveled quickly from one place to another, often racing on...
and stock for the growing stage coach lines. Others were exported to the West Indies for use on the sugar plantations. However, mass exports lead to a precipitous drop in the breed population in Canada in the 1870s, and the stud book was opened in 1886 to preserve the breed and prevent possible extinction. The Canadian Horse Breeders' Association was formed in 1895.
In 1913, the Canadian government began a breeding center in Cap Rouge, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. In 1919, this facility was outgrown so the breeding program was transferred to St. Joachim, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where it was operated jointly by the Canadian and Quebec governments.
In 1940, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
brought an end to the federal breeding program at St. Joachim. At that time, the Quebec government purchased several of the horses and created their own provincial breeding program at Deschambault. In the 1960s, they worked to breed a taller, more refined horse, who would be suitable as a hunter or jumper
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
. During this time, other private breeders worked to preserve the original type, the Henryville line being an example of this.
Eventually the Deschambault herd was sold at auction in 1981. The breed was in danger of disappearing for a second time, with less than 400 horses in the breed register, and fewer than 50 new registrations being recorded per year. However, dedicated breeders rescued the Canadian Horse. New registrations were around 50 per year in 1980 and rose to over 500 new registrations per year in 1999–2000. Since 2000, the new registrations are stable at 450-500 per year. There are now more than 6,000 horses registered.
Uses of the Canadian Horse
Today, many Canadian Horses are bred for driving. However, they also compete in a wide range of ridingEquestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
disciplines, and some are still used as work horses
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
for farming. The generally good temperament displayed by the Canadian horse also makes them useful as all-round family horses.
In addition to the Beaver
American Beaver
The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...
, the Canadian Horse is commonly seen as an animal symbol representing Canada, especially in connection with images of the Mounties. On April 30, 2002, a bill was passed into law by the Canadian Government making the Canadian Horse an official symbol of Canada.
As the Canadian Horse is also "closely associated with the historical origins and the agricultural traditions of Québec", a similar law was passed by the provincial legislature in November 2010, recognizing the breed as an "heritage breed of Quebec".